endoplasm
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of endoplasm
Explanation
The dense, interior layer of a cell's cytoplasm is its endoplasm. Most cellular processes take place in the endoplasm. Endoplasm comes from Greek roots endon, "within or inside," and plasm, "shape." It's the innermost part of a cell, aside from the nucleus. Endoplasm is often granular, in contrast to the watery ectoplasm which lies between it and the cell wall. If your biology teacher mentions endoplasm, she’s probably talking about those tiny, single-celled organisms called amoebas.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The pseudopodia are lobose, sometimes absent, the body then progressing by a flowing movement; the body consists of ectoplasm and endoplasm, the latter being granular and internal, the former hyaline and external.
From Marine Protozoa from Woods Hole Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission 21:415-468, 1901 by Gary N. (Gary Nathan) Calkins
The endoplasm is granular and yellowish in color.
From Marine Protozoa from Woods Hole Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission 21:415-468, 1901 by Gary N. (Gary Nathan) Calkins
The endoplasm contains a number of large refringent granules—probably body products.
From Marine Protozoa from Woods Hole Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission 21:415-468, 1901 by Gary N. (Gary Nathan) Calkins
The general cytoplasm shows no differentiation into ectoplasm and endoplasm; it is uniformly alveolar in character.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 5 "Clervaux" to "Cockade" by Various
There are 1 or 2 vacuoles with long canals radiating throughout the endoplasm.
From Marine Protozoa from Woods Hole Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission 21:415-468, 1901 by Gary N. (Gary Nathan) Calkins
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
